Hyderabad: The waiting list for organs like kidneys, livers, corneas and heart valves has lengthened to more than six months after the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Patients who had registered with Jeevandan, the government scheme, and with private hospitals face a long wait as it is difficult to carry out elective transplant procedures. According to the guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research, only emergency cases where the patients are suffering from chronic failure of organs must be taken up.
Doctors are facing a challenge wherein brain dead patients are acquiring infections in the inte-nsive care unit. These infections are leading to COVID-19 in most cases, making it difficult to harvest organs. Those brain dead patients in facilities where infection control is upgr aded can facilitate organ harvesting but their numbers are very low.
Dr Ch….